Delivery slide for linecasting machines



Aug. 7, 1962 P. HILPMAN ETAL 3,048,261

DELIVERY SLIDE FOR LINECASTING MACHINES 1 Filed Dec. 30, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS 5 PAUL HILPMAN GERALD PosT ATTORNEY Aug. 7, 1962 P. HILPMAN ETAL 3, 8, 6

DELIVERY sum; FOR LINECASTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 50, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 30 32 INVENTORS 29 PAUL HILPMAN BY GERA 0 P057" #MWHM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,048,261 DELIVERY SLTDE FUR LKNECASTHNG MACHTNES Paul Hilpman, Garden City, and Gerald Post, Bronx,

N.Y., assignors to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a

corporation of New York Filed Dec. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 783,757 Claims. (Cl. 199-26) This invention relates to typographical composing machines such as Linotype machines of the general organization represented in U.S. Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler,

' No. 436,5 32, wherein circulating matrices and spacebands are selectively composed in line in an assembler elevator, the elevator raised to position the line between a pair of depending fingers carried by a transfer slide, the line transferred thereby to the left and delivered to a so-called first elevator which thereupon descends to present the line between a pair of vise jaws, to the face of a mold for casting of a type bar or slug, and the matrices and spacebands thereafter separated and returned to their respective places of storage.

In these machines, the short right hand finger is fixed to the transfer carriage slide while the long left hand finger is loosely mounted thereon to the right of a clamp block which is adjustably fixable on the slide. Normally, the carriage slide is held to the right in its line receiving position, directly above the assembling elevator, against the action of a spring, by means of a latch. As the assembling elevator rises to its line delivery position it releases the latch whereupon the spring is allowed to propel the slide toward the left. As the composed line is advanced to the left by the short finger, it picks up the loosely mounted long finger and carries it along therewith, thereby confining the line between the tWo fingers. After the line has been delivered to the first elevator, the slide is returned to the right a slight distance beyond its line receiving position, in order to insure that the latch is rendered operative, and thereafter the slide moves back to the left into locking engagement with the latch. As the carriage slide returns to the right, the long finger is returned to the right by the clamp block a distance equal to that travelled by the short finger which is fixed to the slide. Inasmuch, however, as the long finger is loosely mounted on the slide, it remains in its rightwardmost position and does not return the slight distance to the left when the slide returns to its line receiving position wherein the latch is engaged. The clamp block, nevertheless, being fixed to the slide does return to the left when the slide returns from its rightwardmost position with the result that when the slide is in its line receiving position the long finger is spaced a slight distance from the clamp block.

conventionally, before machine operation begins, the clamp block is so positioned on the slide that it will serve, upon returning the long finger to the right, to space the long finger from the short finger a distance approximately equal to the length of line to be cast. The spacing will not, however, be precisely of slug length since, as is well known, the clamp block is fixable on the slide only in increments of one pica and in addition, as mentioned above, the long finger does not come to rest in abutting relationship with the block when the carriage slide engages the latch. As a matter of fact, the spacing is usually made slightly greater than slug length, rather than slightly smaller in order to insure that all composed lines of casting length are accepted by the fingers. In most cases this point is not important since a majority of the composed lines introduced between the fingers are shorter than slug length, the spacebands being utilized to expand the line to proper length at the time it is positioned between the mold vise jaws. Occasionally, however, a composed line just slightly in excess of the length of line to be cast is introduced to and accepted by the finger. This situation is highly undesirable since the vise jaws of the mold are preset to exactly slug length and it is evident that if an oversize line is presented thereto, jamming will occur. Although the machine is adapted to be automatically disabled when such jamming occurs, it remains a condition to be avoided due to the possible damage to the jaws and matrices, and due to the fact that when jamming occurs, the main cam shaft of the machine must be reversed by hand in order to re-raise the first elevator in preparation for a new cycle of operation.

It is the object of the present invention to insure that oversize lines are not presented to the casting mechanism. Toward this end, means are provided whereby the distance between the line delivery fingers may be set equal to the length of line to be cast, and additional means are provided to maintain this preset distance whenever the delivery carriage is in line receiving position. Therefore, if a composed line in the rising assembling elevator is oversize, it will not fit between the delivery slide fingers,

and the elevator will be prevented from reaching its uppermost position wherein it releases the latch locking the elivery slide. Operation of the machine ceases, of course, permitting rearrangement of the line into acceptable length. As usual, such interference with assembling elevator motion will not damage the machine, inasmuch as the elevator driving connection is automatically broken when the elevator meets any undue resistance in its upward path of travel.

The present invention is of particular advantage in machines equipped with automatic tape control units, such as Teletypesetter units, where supervision of the machines during operation is at a minimum and automatic safety controls must take the place of the judgment of the.

operator.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a linecasting machine, showing the improvements of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the novel mechanism of this invention in conjunction with the line tran fer mechanism of a linecasting machine;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, matrices ll), selectively released from a plurality of magazines (not shown) disposed above a delivery belt ll, fall upon the delivery belt Ill and are assembled by a star wheel 12 on an assembling elevator 13. When a complete line of matrices l0, and spacebands 14, has been composed, in the conventional manner, the assembling elevator 13 is raised, thereby introducing the composed line between delivery slide fingers 23 and 24, which in turn transfer the line horizontally, toward the left, to the first elevator 19. Elevator 19 then lowers the composed line, interposing it between the vise jaws of the mold (not shown), wherein a typographical slug is cast, following which the matrices are redistributed to their respective magazines, and the cast slug is delivered to a galley. As mentioned before, the spacing of the vise jaws is equal to the length of the slug cast.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a delivery slide 20 is represented, comprising a body portion 21 which slides in '3 delivery channel 22, a short finger 23 fastened to a short finger block 23a, which is integral with the body portion 21, and a long finger 24 fastened to a long finger block 24a, which is slidably mounted on the body portion 21. The body portion 21 is provided, along most of its length, with a plurality of notches 25 cut one pica apart. A clamp block 26, although slidably mounted on body portion 21, may be stationarily positioned above any one of the above mentioned notches 25, by cooperation of a .small clamp 29, carried by the clamp block 26, with any individual notch. The spacing between the delivery slide fingers 23 and 24 may be varied merely by sliding long finger block 24a along body portion 21, either toward or away from short finger 23. Once the desired spacing between the fingers has been set, clamp block 26 is fixed adjacent long finger block 24a to prevent leftward travel of block 24a relative to body portion 21. As was mentioned before, clamp block 26 may only be fixed on body portion 21 at intervals of one pica, hence it is likely that after the spacing between the delivery slide fingers, equal to the desired length of line, has been set, fixing the clamp block 26 in contiguous relation with long finger block 2401 will not be possible. Rather it is probable that there will be a small spacing of less than one pica between the two blocks 26 and 24a.

Conventionally, then, a composed line whose length is one pica or more greater than the desired length of line poses no problem since it will not fit between the delivery slide fingers. On the other hand, a composed line whose length exceeds the desired length of line by less than the above-mentioned spacing between the long finger block and the clamp block, will be accepted by the delivery slide fingers, and will thereafter by presented to the vise jaws of the mold where the line will jam. As will be seen hereinafter, the present invention obviates this difficulty.

The present invention is composed of two distinct mechanisms serving two distinct, yet inter-related functions. The first mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. The long finger block 24a is provided with an extension bar 3%, which is mounted in a channel on the block, by means of a set screw 31, and which is slidable relative to block 24a by virtue of an elongated aperature 32 in extension bar 31}, through which the set screw 31 passes. one end to form a head portion 39a. A compression spring 33 disposed in a well 34 in long finger block 24a contacts the internal side of head a, and urges the head toward clamp block 26. The translatory movement of extension bar 30, induced by spring 33, may be checked by tightening set screw 31. Therefore, when the present invention is employed, after the spacing between the delivery slide fingers has been set, and clamp block 26 has been fixed as close to the long finger block 24a as possible, losening set screw 31 will allow extension bar 30 to move toward clamp block 26, under the influence of compression spring 33, thus spanning the gap between long finger block 24a and clamp block 26. When head 30a contacts clamp block 26, set screw 31 is retightened to maintain that position of the extension bar 30. In effect, then, the left side of long finger block 24a (in FIG. 2) is adjustable, permitting maintenance of any exact maximum spacing desired between the delivery slide fingers, even though the clamp block 26, which acts as an abutment member to control this maximum spacing, may only be set to the nearest pica. Consequently, it will no longer be possible for a composed line which is just slightly longer than the set distance between the delivery slide fingers, to gain entrance into the delivery slide by expanding the preset spacing between the delivery slide fingers.

The second mechanism of the present invention comes into action after a composed line has been transferred to the first elevator, and the delivery slide 20, has returned to its normal position over the assembling elevator The extension bar 3%) is bent 90 near 13. Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a bracket 35 fastened to the machine frame 36 by machine screws 39 is provided with an elongated aperature 38, which runs almost the entire length of the bracket, and acts as a guide track for a slider block 4%. Slider block 4-0, disposed on the machineward side of bracket 35, has a threaded pin 41 projecting perpendicularly therefrom, which passes through aperture 38 and accommodates a wing nut 42 on its free end. It is apparent that when the wing nut 42 is loose, slider block 4% may be moved freely along bracket 35, and by tightening the wing nut 42, the slider block 49 may be rendered stationary at any desired location along the bracket 35. An arm 43, pivotally mounted on slider block by means of a pin 4-4, is biased in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 4) by a tension spring 45 connected between slider block 40 and arm 43. Arm d3 is disposed in the path of extension 24b, of long finger 24, which projects vertically upward beyond the upper surface of long finger block 24a, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. When arm 43 is not in contact with extension 241), it remains in a position perpendicular to bracket 35 due to the abutment of detent 43a on arm 43 against a raised portion 40a of slider block 49.

The delivery slide 21 being spring biased toward the left (FIG. 1), is maintained in its normal position, directly over the assembling elevator, by the cooperation of a stud :6, projecting vertically upward from short finger block 23a, with the tooth 49 of a latch 50. Latch St} pivotally mounted on machine frame 36 by a machine screw 51, and biased against stop pin 52 by leaf spring 53, is automatically pivoted out of contact with stud when the assembling elevator introduces a composed line between the delivery slide fingers. After delivering a composed line to the first elevator 19, the delivery slide 29 returns to its normal position directly over the assembling elevator 13. Before finally coming to rest, however, the delivery slide continues to move, toward the right, slightly beyond its normal position in order to insure the engagement of stud 46 with tooth 49, of latch 50. The delivery slide then springs back to its normal position. When the delivery slide experiences the slight additional movement toward the right, the long finger moves past its normal position just as the rest of the delivery slide does, due to the abutment of extension bar 36 against clam-p block 26. However, since the long finger slides freely on body portion 21 of delivery slide 26, the long finger does not spring back to its normal position as the rest of the delivery slide does. Consequently, after delivery of a composed line, the spacing between the delivery slide fingers is ordinarily smaller than the spacing which was originally set, i.e., smaller than the distance between the mold vise jaws. To avoid this undesirable result, slider block 40 is so positioned on bracket 35 that when the long finger24 is in its normal pre-sc position, arm 43 contacts extension 24b, as in FIG. 4. Thereafter, when long finger 24 moves toward the right past its normal position, it will pivot arm 43 clockwise about pin 44, stretching spring 45. When the delivery slide springs back to normal position, extension bar 3%? will no longer abut clamp block 26. Spring 45 will therefore be free to rotate arm 43 in a counterclockwise direction until extension bar 30 again abuts clamp block 26 and long finger 24 is in its normal position.

In operation, the distance between the delivery slide fingers 23 and 24- is set equal to the spacing between the vise jaws of the mold by inserting a cast slug 54 between the fingers, the length of the slug being equal to the desired length of line, and sliding the long finger along carriage 21 of delivery slide 20 until the distance between the fingers equals the length of the slug, as in PEG. 1. Clamp block 26 is then fixed as close to long finger block 24a as possible. Set screw 31 is loosened, allowing head portion 36a of extension bar 36 to contact clamp block 26, after which set screw 31 is tightened to fix the extension bar in this position. Wing nut 42, is loosened, and slider block 40 is moved along bracket 35 to a position in which arm 43 contacts upper extension 24b of long finger 24. The wing nut 42 is then tightened to fix slider block 40 in this position. The machine is now ready to begin composing. It will be appreciated that not only have the delivery slide fingers been spaced to the exact dimension of the spacing between the mold vise jaws, but the distance between the delivery slide fingers will automatically be readjusted to this dimension after each cycle.

It is not intended to set forth all the variations that may be made, but it is contemplated that many of the features of the invention disclosed may be carried out in other ways and that many widely difierent embodiments of the invention can be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. -It is, therefore, intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustra- I and a line delivery position, said carriage having two fingers which engage a line of matrices, one of said fingers being fixed to said carriage so as to push said line of matrices when said carriage moves from its line receiving to its line delivery position, the other of said fingers being freely slidable on said carriage so as to engage and support the leading matrix as the line of matrices is transferred, and means for setting the line receiving position of said other finger in any adjustably fixed relationship to said one of said fingers, said means comprising a clamp block fixable in any one of a plurality of spaced-apart positions on said transfer carriage, a member movably attached to said other finger and means for locking said movable member in an adjusted position engaging said clamp block after said other finger is spaced the desired distance from said one of said fingers.

2. In a typographical composing machine, a line transfer carriage according to claim 1, including biasing means positioned to urge said movable means attached to said other finger into engagement with the clamp block when the line transfer carriage is in position to receive a line of matrices.

3. In a typographical composing machine, a line delivery carriage movable between a line receiving position and a line delivery position, said carriage having two fingers which engage a line of matrices being transferred, one of said fingers being fixed to the delivery carriage and the other finger being freely slideable on said carriage and adjustably positioned in the line receiving position so as to be spaced from said one of said fingers a distance equal to the exact desired line length, and means for adjustably positioning said other of said fingers, said means comprising a clamp block fixable in any one of a plurality of spaced-apart positions on said transfer carriage, a slidable extension bar adapted to abut said clamp block and adjustably connected to said other of said fingers, and means for locking said extension bar in an adjusted position abutting said clamp bar when the said two fingers are spaced apart the desired distance.

4. In a typographical composing machine, a line delivery carriage according to claim 3 wherein the extension bar is provided with an elongated slot and the locking means is a tightening screw extending through said slot and threaded into said other of said fingers, and including spring means for urging said extension bar into engagement with the clamp block when said other of said fingers are held in the desired position spaced from said clamp block.

5. In a typographical composing machine, a line delivery carriage according to claim 4 including a member fixable in any desired position relative to said delivery carriage when in position to receive a line of matrices, said member having a spring biased arm positioned to engage the other of said fingers when the delivery carriage is returned to its line receiving position and urge said other finger and its extension bar into abutting relationship with the clamp block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hilpman May 17, 1938 

